The applicability of discriminant analysis techniques on the multivariate normal and non-normal data types in marketing research.

Includes bibliography.The purpose of the procedures described is to assign “objects” or "observations" in some optimum fashion to one of two or more populations. In routine banking a bank manager may wish to classify clients who wish to make loans as low or high credit risks on the basis of the elements of certain accounting statements. In such a case there are two definite distinct classes. Another investigation may be initiated to determine whether buying habits are different with respect to the categories: urban, sub-urban and rural clients. Note that in the first example the classes are determined before any sample of observations is investigated, i.e. the sample results do not influence the choice of groups. In the latter case one is trespassing on the terrain of cluster analysis.In the first case we have two types of problems, namely that of devising a classification rule from samples of already classified objects and that of imposing the classification scheme on the objects. The term "discrimination" refers to the process of deriving classification rules from samples of classified objects and the term "classification" refers to applying the rules to knew objects of unknown class. Although it is possible to convert raw data into more easily grasped forms like cartoon faces (Chernoff, 1973) this still represents the problem that any grouping or classification based on these diagrams is subjective